Azuth
The High One, Patron of Wizards, the Lord of Spells, the Hand of Sorcery, the Lord of Spellcraft Lesser Power of Arcadia, LN PORTFOLIO: Wizards, mages, spellcasters in general ALIASES: None DOMAIN NAME: Buxenus/Azuth SUPERIOR: Mystra ALLIES: Mystra, Savras the All-Seeing, Velsharoon the Vaunted, Oghma, Deneir, Leira (now dead) FOES: Cyric SYMBOL: A human left hand, pointed upward, outlined in a nimbus of blue fire WOR. ALIGN.: Any Azuth (Ah-ZOOTH) is the god of wizards and mages and to a much lesser degree, all spellcasters, as opposed to Mystra, who is the goddess of all magic. Azuth is Mystra's servant, friend, and advisor. This last role has become even more important in the years since the Time of Troubles. Before the Godswar, he and Mystra were much closer and very affectionate toward one another, but Azuth's relationship with Midnight/Mystra is much more professional. He regards the new Mystra as an inexperienced daughter facing a taxing and complex job whom he must coach to allow her to bset perform her duties. In religious art, Azuth is most often protrayed as a bearded old man unbent by age, wielding a stout, gem-topped staff. Savras the All-Seeing, a rival god of mages whom Azuth defeated, was Azuth's foe for centuries. Savras now serves Azuth, albeit uneasily, as a demipower of diviners and truth-speakers. The two deities seem to cautiously be working toward friendship and a format division of duties, albeit with Savras continuing to serve Azuth. Azuth also works closely to guide the Magister, the mortal spellwielding champion of magic who serves Mystra. Likewise, Velsharoon, demipower of necromancy, must pay at least lip service to Azuth's commands. Azuth is a sober sort of father-figure deity, but he is not humorless or mean-spirited. He has a rather dry, sardonic wit and appreciates plays on words and subtle humor. He has perfected a straight-faced delivery to such a degree that often those who hear him speak are left wondering whether some of his comments were said seriously or in jest. When he is in good humor, he likes to present those who have called on him with small gifts, such as flowers in unusual colors, magical fabric of elegant drape, or edible delicacies. When he is upset, his wrath is terrible to behold as the air crackles with magical energy around him that seems to flow both into and out of his eyes and the Old Staff, a divine artifact of ancient construction that he wields to devastating effect. Other Manifestations Azuth sometimes appears as a glowing, intangible floating mouth surrounded by mustache and beard and sometimes as a white, glowing, upright hand with its forefinger extended to a point that is outlined with a shimmering silver aura. Most often he appears as an electric blue radiance. Sometimes he manifests merely as an echoing, dry, male voice or such a voice accompanies another manifestation. In all manifestations, he has the power to unleash spells, identify from a distance without triggering the powers of an item or spell, and know the end result of any magic he sees being cast before it takes effect. Azuth also acts or shows his favor through the appearance or presence of pure gray cats and dogs (which Azuthans consider lucky), gray owls, gray mice, golems, watchghosts, devas, and the Favored. The Favored are human archmages given a second life by Azuth to serve him with their spells and researches. They can fly and employ ESP at will, but are otherwise living mages in all respects. The Church CLERGY: Wizards, clerics, specialty priests, monks CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LG, LN, N, CN, LE TURN UNDEAD: W: No, C: Yes, SP: No, Mon: No CMND. UNDEAD: W: No, C: No, SP: No, Mon: No All clerics, specialty priests, and monks of Azuth receive religion (Faerûnian) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. All priests of Azuth can cast priest spells faster than other priests. Their casting time on all priest spells of one round or less is reduced by 3 (for example, a casting time of 7 would be reduced to 4). Those spells that take more than one round to cast still take them the usual amount of time. Priest spells cast by priests of Azuth always have a casting time of at least 1. Azuthan clergy tend to be folk who love magic for its own sake. They do not exeult in power, for that is the tendency of those who enjoy what magic can allow them to do to others, but in in elegance, complexities of dweomer, and deft use of spells. Wizards, clerics, specialty priests, and monks serve in the clergy of Azuth. Within the church hierarchy, 45% of the titled clergy are wizards. Another 30% are clerics, who form the strong right arm of the faith, 20% are specialty priests, and 5% are monks. Relationships between the three groups are good, though there is some resentment against a current trend to promote specialty priests into positions of power. However, because of this trend, more novices of the Azuthan faith have chosen the path of a specialty priest than a cleric. Specialty priests of Azuth are known as magistrati. In areas where Azuth has temples, shrines, and monastic communities, the ruling (not necessarily the most powerful) clergy member holds the title of "the First" and is addressed as "Revered One." Other clergy members in large clerical communities have expanded on this idea: The most powerful user of alteration magic is called First Transmuter, the leading specialist in divination magic is First Diviner, etc. The First may bestow or revoke such titles within his or her parish. Clergy members of high rank and long years in the church are granted the title of Master. Azuthan clergy eschew most further titles. Dogma: Followers of Azuth feel that reason is the best way to approach magic, and that it may be examined and reduced to its component parts through study and meditation. Calm and caution are the watchwords of Azuthan clergy members as they strive to avoid mistakes that even magic cannot undo. They are taught to use Art (magic) wisely and to be always mindful of when it is best not to use magic. Novices in the faith are charged to: "Teach the wielding of magic, and dispense scrolls, items, and spellbooks throughout Taerun that the use and knowledge of magic may spread. Encourage everyone to try their hand at wielding magic. Drive home the lesson that with magical power comes grave responsibility, and live that lesson yourself. Try to gain a copy of every new spell, spell variant, or magical idea you encounter without regard for its worth or importance—and make a copy of that copy for a temple library. Train others in what you know of magic, not hoarding your knowledge for yourself, and encourage creativity in magic in all ways and at all times. Day-to-Day Activities: Azuthan clergy members very often serve as messengers between mages. They strive to remain above reproach and to be regarded as trusted neutral parties by all. They organize annual Mage Fairs, and at those Mage Fairs they try to settle feuds, curb overly destructive or deceitful magic, and sponsor spellweaving contests. They also give out scrolls of the winning spells from previous years and small, useful magical items as prizes in these contests. Most wizards see the priesthood as helpful, but members of the church of Azuth may go to great lengths to serve a prime goal that many wizards do not find so pleasing: They try to ensure that no spell or magical item is unique to one mage in Faerûn so that the death of a single wizard does not take any spell or the knowledge of how to construct an item out of the world forever. Azuthan clergy members do this by magical spying (and even temporary thefts), by copying every wizardly writing they can find including command words and cryptic phrases (not just complete incantations), by encouraging the barter of spells, and by organizing tome drives in which wizards are paid handsomely to contribute a spell to the latest folio of the ongoing Azuthan spell syclopedia (a written collection of spells from various mages duplicated magically in bulk, bound, and distributed by the priesthood for a minor fee covering production costs). Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The church of Azuth holds a holy revel to mark the ascension of a new Magister and of any mage to the ranks of the Favored. Every twilight the faithful of Azuth pray silently to the High One for guidance in all their doings that day and the next. Azuthan priests otherwise avoid a lot of ceremony, but in temples and abbeys of the Lord of Spells, all three major meals of the day are accompanied by readings from the writings of great mages on the ethics of magic use, speculations as to what magic can be made to do in the future, and various philosophies of magic. When a being is confirmed as a priest of Azuth, she or he must undergo the Transforming, a ritual in which the novice spends a tenday in thrall to an involuntary, ongoing shape change cast on him or her by a Master. In this ceremony, the novice must see life through the eyes of a bewildering variety of shapes forced upon him or her in succession by the magic. No shape the novice is placed in is unable to survive in the environment in which this ritual takes place, but the experience is typically humbling. The ritual is typically held in a walled, secluded temple garden that is temporarily off limits to all others, but which normally serves as a place for contemplation. The spell used in this ritual is a church secret, and it has been used by some Masters on foes in the defense of temples and abbeys under attack. Azuthan clergy and laity alike also celebrate occasional Wild Nights, in which they dance in the midst of unleashed wild magic just to feel its power nad effects. (Other wizards and priests stand by to rescue anyone who runs into harm.) Major Centers of Worship: The House of the High One in Saerloon is the most revered temple of the Azuthan faith. It is run jointly by six Masters (all human male priests or wizards of 18th or greater level): Helven, Lhun, Mirren, Ormil, Riilath, and Thelcaunt. Another very powerful temple of Azuth is the House of the High One Ascendant. It is located in the mountains near Lhair in western Halruaa. Here First Arleenaya Kithmaer runs a huge temple complex expanded out from natural caverns in the mountains and fronted by a grand formal stone archway and portico ornamented by the finest carvings stone shape and grand master sculptors can achieve. Affiliated Orders: Azuth clergy members who have done great service in recovering magical knowledge thought lost are often voted into the Order of the Forgotten Page by the Firsts of the church and allowed to wear a special ilver trim on the collars of their ceremonial vestments. Members of the faith who have served the church in helping to eliminate a magical imbalance or monstrosity are granted the title "Shield of the High One," given a minor protected magical item, and told a secret phrase or word that allows them aid from any temple or shrine of Azuth in the form of healing, shelter, and small loans, when necessary. Priestly Vestments: The vestments of the priesthood of Azuth are shimmering gray and usually made of silk, though these are layered with heavier and more sensible materials in the North. The symbol of Azuth is worn on the chest, and the color of the aura on the symbol denotes an individual's rank in the church. Most acolytes, monks, mage apprentices, and adventurers have a yellow aura surrounding the symbol of Azuth. Higher level adventurers and clergy members at large without official position wear symbols with a red aura. When not used to identify rank, the symbol of Azuth has a blue aura. In the North, usually only the forefinger of Azuth's symbol is shown ablaze. From Chessenta southward—notably in Halruaa—the entire hand is surrounded by flame. Adventuring Garb: In the field, clergy of Azuth wear sensible clothing, predominantly in shades of gray. They wear the symbol of their faith over their hearts, either stitched onto a tunic or robes or inlaid in metal armor. Specialty Priests (Magistrati) REQUIREMENTS: Intelligence 13, Wisdom 14 PRIME REQ.: Intelligence, Wisdom ALIGNMENT: LN WEAPONS: Any bludgeoning (wholly Type B) weapons ARMOR: None MAJOR SPHERES: All, astral, charm, combat, creation, divination, guardian, healing, law, necromantic, protection, summoning, sun, thought, wards MINOR SPHERES: Elemental, travelers, war MAGICAL ITEMS: Same as clerics, plus all items normally usable by wizards including magical scrolls REQ. PROFS: Spellcraft BONUS PROFS: None Like all Azuthan priests, magistrati can cast priest spells faster than other priests. Their casting time on all priest spells of one round or less is reduced by 3 (for example, a casting time of 7 would be reduced to 4). Spells taking more than one round to cast still require the usual amount of time. Priest spells cast by a magistrata always have a casting time of at least 1. Magistrati, starting at 2nd level, may cast wizard spells in addition to priest spells. Magistrati cast these as mages of half their actual level (drop fractions). For example, a 3rd-level magistrati casts wizard spells as a 1st-level mage and cannot gain spells that are not available to a 1st-level mage. Magistrati pray for their wizard spells instead of studying to memorize them, and chosen wizard spells replace clerical spells potentially available for use that day. (In other words, the wizard spell occupies a priest spell slot.) Because of this, magistrati may never cast 8th- or 9th-level wizard spells. Further, a magistrata may only take wizard spells from a single school (abjuration, alteration, necromancy, etc.). This school is determined when the first wizard spell is requested from Azuth. From that point on, all wizard spells prayed for by that magistrata must be from that school and cannot be from any other, with the exception of read magic, which is always available. Magistrati may use magical scrolls in addition to clerical scrolls. They need a read magic spell to do so if the spell is not of the school of magic they have selected to choose their wizard spells from. At 5th level, magistrati can identify (similar to the 1st-level wizard spell) magical items by touch. Use of this ability cannot awaken any curse or item powers and does not temporarily reduce a magistrata's Constitution or require him or her to rest after using the ability. The duration of the identify ability is five rounds, which may only be used on one item. An item may only be identified once by a particular magistrata; another attempt cannot be made until the magistrata increases in experience level. At 7th level, magistrati have the ability to cast magic missile once a day (similar to the 1st-level wizard spell) as if they were mages of equivalent level. This is an ability and does not conflict with their restriction to only one school of wizard spells. At 9th level, magistrati have the ability to cast fireball or lightning bolt once a day (similar to the 3rd-level wizard spells) as if they were mages of equivalent level. This is an ability and does not conflict with their restriction to only one school of wizard spells. At 12th level, magistrati have the ability to create a wall similar to any wall spell (wall of fire, wall of ice, wall of force, wall of iron, wall of stone, etc.) once a day as if they were mages of equivalent level. This is an ability and does not conflict with their restriction to only one school of wizard spells. Azuthan Spells All of these spells, available to priests and wizards in Azuth's clergy, are both wizard and priest spells; they work identically for either class, with the exception of their casting times. The casting times for the wizard versions are noted in parentheses next to the priestly casting time. This priestly casting time does not incorporate the reduction in casting time that Azuthan priests gain. The wizard spells have been written down in church spell tomes for the use of wizards of the clergy. Azuth prevents them from falling into the hands of those not of the faith by this simple expedient: These spells cannot be seen by nonclergy wizards. They are not magically hidden or detectable only with special abilities; they are simply not there for anyone who is not a clergy member, and if such people gaze upon a page where they are written, all that is seen is blank vellum. 4th Level Azuth's Fedensor (Alteration) Sphere: Thought Range: Touch Vomponents: V, S Duration: Up to 1 turn Casting Time: 7 (4) Area of Effect: One being Saving Throw: None This spell allows the next 1st- through 5th-level spell cast by the caster of Azuth's fedensor or another touched spellcasting being to be unleashed without any normally necessary material components (unless crucial to a spell, such as the gem used in a magic jar spell) and without being forgotten. The affected spell is not erased from memory and can be cast again as normal at a later time. The spell to be effected must be cast within a turn of the casting of Azuth's fedensor or the fedensor is lost and wasted. Azuth's fedensor does not work on Azuth's fedensor; such a use results in the loss of both fedensors. 5th Level Azuth's Exalted Triad (Alteration) Sphere: Thought Range: 0 Components: V, S Duration: Special Casting Time: 8 (5) Area of Effect: The caster Saving Throw: None This magic can affect any one 1st through 5th-level spell that the caster of the exalted triad already has in memory. Once this spell is chosen by silent will of the caster, the triad cannot be shifted to another spell. The chosen spell becomes castable thrice without any additional memorization, loss of other memorized spells, or loss of spell memorization slots. The first use of the spell chosen to be affected by Azuth's exalted triad is cast as normal in all respects, but the second and third castings of the chosen spell require no material or verbal components and their casting time changes to 2. An exalted triad spell cannot affect another exalted triad spell in memory. Only one exalted triad spell may be in use on a given spell slot at a time; any attempt to use multiple exalted triad spells on a given spell in memory results in the spellcaster being feebleminded. Azuth's fedensor may not be used on Azuth's exalted triad or on any spell affected by Azuth's exalted triad. No more than two exalted triad spells may be in use (on different spells in memory) at a time. The extra "copied" spells gained by use of an exalted triad all take up the same spell slot; that spell slot is considered in use until all the copies created by the exalted triad are used or discarded from memory to make way for new spells, at which time the exalted triad ends. 7th Level Azuth's Spell Shield (Abjuration) Sphere: Protection Range: Touch Components: V, S Duration: 1 round Casting Time: 1 round (7) Area of Effect: One being Saving Throw: None This spell renders the caster or a touched spell recipient immune to all magical effects on the round after this spell is cast. This immunity includes an immunity to previously applied protections and aids and ongoing effects. The spell does not prevent such magics from operating; it simply prevents the protected being from being affected in any way by them for one round. Destroy Magedoom (Conjuration/Summoning) Sphere: Summoning, Protection Range: 10 yards/level Components: V, S Duration: Instantaneous Casting Time: 1 round (7) Area of Effect: One magedoom Saving Throw: Special This spell was recently developed by the church of Azuth in response to the creation of a mage-killing horror known as a magedoom by the powerful wizards of the Zhentarim. (See the Ruins of Zhentil Keep boxed set for details on this monster.) Azuth only grants this special spell to high-level specialty priests and wizards who serve him well. The spell is unaffected by a magedoom's 100% magic resistance. This spell has no effect on any creature except a magedoom. When cast on a magedoom, the magedoom must succeed at a saving throw vs. spell or be destroyed. If the saving throw is successful, the magedoom takes 10d8 points of damage. The damage may destroy the magedoom anyway. The material components for this spell are a holy symbol of Azuth, which is not consumed in the casting, and a magical item, which is consumed in the casting. Unique items, artifacts, and relics (as adjudicated by the DM) cannot be used as components of this spell. Category:Lesser deities